Rain, Snow, Wind Possible as New Storm System Approaches Southland

If you liked that cold, windy, wet -- and some places, downright snowy -- weather in Southern California last weekend, you should love this weekend, forecasters said Friday.

The National Weather Service said a chilly storm system should move rapidly down the coast this morning, with a fairly good chance of rain in the valleys tonight and Sunday morning and a very good chance of snow in the mountains.

Temperatures are expected to nosedive tonight, with the snow level dropping to 2,500 feet before dawn. That’s low enough to snarl traffic on several major Southland highways, including Interstate 5 in the Tejon Pass, Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass and California 14 between the San Fernando and Antelope valleys.

Lows are expected in the 30s in the cooler valleys and 20s in the mountains. Winds gusting to 35 mph should make it feel even colder.

Just how much snow and rain falls will depend on whether the storm drifts to the east, following the usual track, or curves west, like last weekend’s “inside slider,” which dropped as much as 3 feet of snow on the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains and up to an inch of rain in the Los Angeles Basin.

If the new storm follows a westerly track, there would be more rain; an eastward track would produce mostly wind and cold, forecasters said.

The forecasts reflected this uncertainty, calling for anywhere from 3 inches to a foot of snow in the mountains, with north-facing slopes expected to bear the brunt of the storm. Rainfall in the valleys could vary from a few light, scattered showers to sustained downpours.

Skies should clear by Sunday evening, but the winds will continue and temperatures will remain cooler than normal through Monday, the weather service said.